Algorithms exist to achieve a result. In that way they are mechanical. Like the machine that removes shells from peanuts and takes you all the way to peanut butter.

They seem to possess the qualities of being independent somehow - like they alone are determining what we see or read, based on a careful analysis of what is best for us. Like a friend or mentor from church.

But in the end they are designed to influence - go this way. Lean a little to the left if you please. To get us to "buy" something.

Algorithms are creepy - for lack of a more technical and instructive term. They pretend to care and want to help and they do - until we "buy" something and then they're off to find another friend.

But without them, the Internet would be a crowded and disorganized placed, where we had to actually talk to people and share thoughts and desires in order to find what we really need. Imagine that!